Little girl's gift for mum melts hearts everywhere

I know plenty of mothers. Young mothers, older mothers, first-time mothers, mothers who adopted. I know mothers of boys, girls and a mix of both. I know mothers who work outside of the home and those who don’t. I tell you who I don’t know though … mothers who feel no guilt.

It’s crazy but in today’s hustle and bustle times it seems that mothering, however you find yourself doing it, goes hand in hand with feeling badly about your efforts.

Aimee Nelson, a busy working mother of two, has shared her thoughts on this conundrum via Facebook.

“Days consist of scrambling to get the kids ready before I rush to get to work at 7 a.m., putting in a long work day, then spending my nights at school and sporting events. Then it’s dinner, homework and bedtime.”

Despite the fact she works so hard to make it all work, Aimee says she continues to be overwhelmed with mama guilt.

After she puts her children to bed she often finds herself ruminating over the same questions.

“Did I spend enough quality time with them? Did I tell them I love them enough? Was dinner healthy enough? Did they watch too much TV tonight? Was I too strict by not letting them stay up for '5 more minutes' or snuggle with me until they fell asleep (for the 3rd night that week)?”

She then shared that she is convinced that self-doubt is a part of motherhood.

Mamas, don't feel guilty. You're doing a brilliant job. Image: Getty.

“No matter how many hugs, kisses or 'I love yous' we get from our children; we moms still worry that we aren’t doing enough,” she wrote.

“So we trek along day after day, hoping our babies see the sacrifice, the unconditional love, the countless ways we try to get this parenting thing right … hoping one day we will get some reinforcement that we are doing something right.”

Recently Aimee found the positive reinforcement she was so badly needing after her eight-year-old daughter left her a series of sweet notes.

Her adorable little girl also made her lunch and left it in the fridge for her mother. The last note was sitting alongside a small set of keys. It read, ‘I gave you the key to my heart’.

You see, Aimee’s daughter, like all of our daughters and sons too, did and do notice all of the hard work we do. And not only that, but appreciate it too.

The sweet child’s efforts meant the world to Aimee - something all mothers could relate to.

“She may not know it now, but those notes scribbled in crayon were just what I needed that day,” Aimee wrote. "They showed me that maybe - just maybe - I'm doing something right."

And Aimee is, of course, doing something very right. Just like the rest of us. The only thing we’re doing wrong? Not appreciating ourselves as much as our kids already do.